William McDonough and Michael Braungart: Cradle to Cradle designers teach us that waste is a design flaw.

When we follow nature's rules, growth is good. The question before us is not growth versus no growth, It is: what would good growth look like? And this is a question of intent, of design. What if we grow health instead of sickness, home ownership instead of indigence, education instead of ignorance?"

In a one hour film narrated by Susan Sarandon about the designer duo William McDonough and Michael Braungart (MBDC), we get a refresher course on Cradle to Cradle design theory. We review waste=food, the role of biological and technical nutrients in production, and why being less bad is no good. The MBDC design tenets result in buildings with net energy returns and products so safe they are edible.

The film takes us up close and personal with five examples of MBDC's zero waste design. We venture on a tour of the Herman Miller factory, with its extensively daylighted building and workers that are so content they have perfect attendance, a Swiss textile factory whose industrial wastewater is cleaner than the incoming supply, and the O'Berlin College Student Center's indoor wetlands graywater system. These examples, along with Nike's new ultra safe sustainable rubber and Ford's twenty-year sustainability plan are used as case studies of Cradle to Cradle to design.

The delightful movie was hosted in San Francsico at the Roxie Film Center, as part of the Urban Alliance for Sustainability's Green Movie Night and Forum. Following the film, a discussion ensued that addressed questions such as: Can a non-toxic rubber be sustainable if trees are clearcut for its production? Can a shoe be sustainable if workers are not paid a fair wage? Can a car be sustainable if a car society is not?

The forum questions pushed the audience to think critically and to realize that the film was presented from a particular bias. In theory MBDC design is beautiful, hopeful, and inspirational, but it is not always perfect in practice. The audience picked up on that point. McDonough, himself, notes in the film that Ford is not sustainable yet, but that they might be the first to get there. The fact of the matter is that his vision for design and good growth are influencing our green future. This film is definitely worth a screening or two, to get everyone familiar with Cradle to Cradle design and to insist upon it.